I've asked the students to memorize a poem and recite it to the class (due Thursday, May 16). There are many benefits for students to memorizing poems.
To give students an example of what a recitation looks like, we watched this video together.
I also challenged the students, as an option, to create videos similar to those done for My Favorite Poem Project.
We viewed this video about Theodore Roethke's "The Sloth" together in class.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Poetry Month Assignment #2
Technically it's no longer National Poetry Month, but we're not quite done with the genre yet.
Today we'll begin an assignment that involves choosing a poem to memorize and recite to the class.
Students will make their selections from this website.
More details to follow!
Today we'll begin an assignment that involves choosing a poem to memorize and recite to the class.
Students will make their selections from this website.
More details to follow!
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Poetry Month Continues
We've been reading and discussing poetry this month, and you might be interested in knowing some of the poems we've covered together in class:
"High Flight" by John Gillespie Magee
"Filling Station" by Elizabeth Bishop
" Deserted Barn" by Larry Woiwode
"The Women's 400 Meters" by Lillian Morrison
"Tennis in the City" by Frank Higgins
We studied personification and onomatopoeia (and sang along to this catchy song!)
"High Flight" by John Gillespie Magee
"Filling Station" by Elizabeth Bishop
" Deserted Barn" by Larry Woiwode
"The Women's 400 Meters" by Lillian Morrison
"Tennis in the City" by Frank Higgins
We studied personification and onomatopoeia (and sang along to this catchy song!)
Monday, April 8, 2013
Standardized Tests Begin Next Week
The NYS ELA assessment will be administered next week (April 16-18).
If you'd like to see sample of what the questions on the grade 7 assessment might look like, you can find it here.
The Commissioner of Education, John King, recorded a video message for parents about the tests.
Some students report feeling increased levels of anxiety around state test time. On the Team Whiteface homework page, you can find a PDF document with tips for helping kids cope with test based stress.
Finally, if you believe like I do that New York State has put too much emphasis on standardized testing, you can sign this petition and let them know that learning is more than a test score.
If you'd like to see sample of what the questions on the grade 7 assessment might look like, you can find it here.
The Commissioner of Education, John King, recorded a video message for parents about the tests.
Some students report feeling increased levels of anxiety around state test time. On the Team Whiteface homework page, you can find a PDF document with tips for helping kids cope with test based stress.
Finally, if you believe like I do that New York State has put too much emphasis on standardized testing, you can sign this petition and let them know that learning is more than a test score.
Saturday, March 9, 2013
This Week in "Local History Project" News
To get an idea of what the scripts will look like, here's one I wrote based on some research I did about Christy Mathewson and his interest in botany.
(The interior of a sleeping porch at the Santanoni Apartments in Saranac Lake, NY. It is early in the spring. It is nighttime, and the room is lit partially by moonlight streaming through the large porch windows and also by a small lamp on a table by a bed. In the bed is CHRISTY MATHEWSON of the NY Giants, one of the greatest pitchers of all time. He is sleeping. Standing by his bedside is DR. EDWARD PACKARD, Director of the Trudeau Sanatorium and Christy’s personal physician. Standing by Dr. Packard is a NURSE).
DR. PACKARD: Look at him lying there, nurse. It’s hard to believe that this sickly man is the world’s best baseball player, the great Christy Mathewson!
NURSE: Yes, Dr. Packard, it’s very sad. But he’ll get excellent care here in Saranac Lake. TB is a terrible disease, but we’ve cured so many people. At least he has a fighting chance here.
NARRATOR: The cure for Tuberculosis patients like Christy involved resting in fresh air, moderate exercise and keeping the patient’s spirits up. And for Christy, there was one more thing… EXTREME BOTANY!
CHRISTY: (writing excitedly in a notebook) There’s the harebell! (looks at the ground and points) And look: hop clover!
NARRATOR: No one can say for sure how he first caught the “botany bug” but Christy became obsessed with finding wildflowers and writing their names in his notebook. His list would eventually grow to include 13 dozen species!
CHRISTY: (cranes neck to peer into the distance) Is that, yes it is! Sneezewort! Score!
NARRATOR: One day, Christy’s teammates “IRON MAN” JOE MCGINNITY and DAVE WILLIAMS arrived in Saranac Lake to visit Christy and cheer him up. What they found surprised them very much.
CHRISTY: Guys it’s great to see you, and thanks for coming all this way, but I’m just on my way out. I’ve had a report that some day lily was spotted in the backyard of the Bogie Cottage on Franklin Street!
TO BE CONTINUED…
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Project Time!
Students will be working over the next several weeks on a project that involves the cooperation of Historic Saranac Lake, Pendragon Theater, Mark Kurtz, and others.
More details in an upcoming post...
Today, students will continue research in the library, using the Historic Saranac Lake Wiki. Among the topics students will investigate are:
People for 7th Grade Projects
(stars indicate the person had a connection to the Helen Hill neighborhood)
* Adelaide Crapsey -- a young talented poet whose life was cut short by TB. Wrote some beautiful poetry while here. One poem is about Pine Ridge Cemetery. She cured in Helen Hill
* Eddie Diamond -- brother of the gangster Legs Diamond. Cured at the Altavista hotel on Franklin Ave., now burned down.
* Jack Kenney -- cured on Franklin Ave. On wiki are some letters he wrote while curing there and photos of him.
* Eva Long -- cured at Prescott. On wiki are pages from a scrapbook of hers and some great photos.
* Mary Prescott -- a philanthopist, owner of the Prescott house. A lot about her on the wiki
* Daniel Riddle -- came as a patient, worked for Dr. Trudeau, built Franklin Manor on Franklin Ave., which later became a convent.
* Jack Carrier -- stayed on Franklin Ave., we have some photos from albums of his
Béla Bartók -- We have a book called “My Father” that has some letters from him to his son written while here. The cottage where he stayed is over by Kiwassa / Riverside Drive. We show the cottage to the public.
Isabel Smith -- cured at San for 17 years, wrote an autobiography called “Wish I Might”, Students could take passages from it to present in her own words. There are some beautiful photos taken of her here online (I can send a link) and HSL can lend the school her autobiography.
Norwegian Sailors -- stayed all over town. On wiki are some good photos of some of them and letters written in their own words. Their graves are in Pine Ridge Cemetery with an interesting marker in Norwegian.
Beanie Barnet -- a patient at the San. who launched a publication that would ultimately sell four million copies called “Trotty Veck Messages”
John Black -- The room at the lab was built for him. We have letters that he wrote while in the war and photos of him here. He cured at 3 addresses in town, none on Helen HIll but one on Church St.
Jack Dalton -- a young patient at the Sanatorium and a poet. We have some of his poems on the wiki.
Walker Percy -- a doctor who cured at the San who became a famous novelist
Norman Bethune -- a doctor who cured at the San who became a hero of the Maoist Revolution in China.
Martha Reben -- cured at the San and then in the woods with ADK guide Fred Rice. Wrote bestselling books about her experience.
Robert Louis Stevenson -- cured here at the height of his fame as one of greatest American writers. The house is a museum.
Albert Charles Badasarian -- cured here, ran a shoe shine stand downtown, was friends with author W. Somerset Maugham, worked for WNBZ radio.
Richard Ray -- cured at San and Ray Brook. Took photos and kept a journal. We have a book of his photos and notes while curing.
Ed Worthington -- cured at San, made radios for himself and other patients to pass the time, had many neat hobbies, taught at the Study and Craft guild. Married a patient and had a child they raised here.
Topics:
- Bootlegging
- People settled in SL after the cure and established businesses, sometimes making a living from a craft they learned in occupational therapy (example: Temming)
- Wartime (WWI and WWII)
- see the thematic index http://hsl.wikispot.org/Thematic_Index for links to pages on wiki that relate to other themes and issues in American history such as immigration, the flu pandemic, the labor movement, etc.
- see the list of reminiscences and oral histories at http://hsl.wikispot.org/Reminiscences_%26_Oral_Histories for more first hand photos and accounts.
More details in an upcoming post...
Today, students will continue research in the library, using the Historic Saranac Lake Wiki. Among the topics students will investigate are:
People for 7th Grade Projects
(stars indicate the person had a connection to the Helen Hill neighborhood)
* Adelaide Crapsey -- a young talented poet whose life was cut short by TB. Wrote some beautiful poetry while here. One poem is about Pine Ridge Cemetery. She cured in Helen Hill
* Eddie Diamond -- brother of the gangster Legs Diamond. Cured at the Altavista hotel on Franklin Ave., now burned down.
* Jack Kenney -- cured on Franklin Ave. On wiki are some letters he wrote while curing there and photos of him.
* Eva Long -- cured at Prescott. On wiki are pages from a scrapbook of hers and some great photos.
* Mary Prescott -- a philanthopist, owner of the Prescott house. A lot about her on the wiki
* Daniel Riddle -- came as a patient, worked for Dr. Trudeau, built Franklin Manor on Franklin Ave., which later became a convent.
* Jack Carrier -- stayed on Franklin Ave., we have some photos from albums of his
Béla Bartók -- We have a book called “My Father” that has some letters from him to his son written while here. The cottage where he stayed is over by Kiwassa / Riverside Drive. We show the cottage to the public.
Isabel Smith -- cured at San for 17 years, wrote an autobiography called “Wish I Might”, Students could take passages from it to present in her own words. There are some beautiful photos taken of her here online (I can send a link) and HSL can lend the school her autobiography.
Norwegian Sailors -- stayed all over town. On wiki are some good photos of some of them and letters written in their own words. Their graves are in Pine Ridge Cemetery with an interesting marker in Norwegian.
Beanie Barnet -- a patient at the San. who launched a publication that would ultimately sell four million copies called “Trotty Veck Messages”
John Black -- The room at the lab was built for him. We have letters that he wrote while in the war and photos of him here. He cured at 3 addresses in town, none on Helen HIll but one on Church St.
Jack Dalton -- a young patient at the Sanatorium and a poet. We have some of his poems on the wiki.
Walker Percy -- a doctor who cured at the San who became a famous novelist
Norman Bethune -- a doctor who cured at the San who became a hero of the Maoist Revolution in China.
Martha Reben -- cured at the San and then in the woods with ADK guide Fred Rice. Wrote bestselling books about her experience.
Robert Louis Stevenson -- cured here at the height of his fame as one of greatest American writers. The house is a museum.
Albert Charles Badasarian -- cured here, ran a shoe shine stand downtown, was friends with author W. Somerset Maugham, worked for WNBZ radio.
Richard Ray -- cured at San and Ray Brook. Took photos and kept a journal. We have a book of his photos and notes while curing.
Ed Worthington -- cured at San, made radios for himself and other patients to pass the time, had many neat hobbies, taught at the Study and Craft guild. Married a patient and had a child they raised here.
Topics:
- Bootlegging
- People settled in SL after the cure and established businesses, sometimes making a living from a craft they learned in occupational therapy (example: Temming)
- Wartime (WWI and WWII)
- see the thematic index http://hsl.wikispot.org/Thematic_Index for links to pages on wiki that relate to other themes and issues in American history such as immigration, the flu pandemic, the labor movement, etc.
- see the list of reminiscences and oral histories at http://hsl.wikispot.org/Reminiscences_%26_Oral_Histories for more first hand photos and accounts.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Longer School Day, Longer School Year?
In class we've begun to have very interesting discussions about a proposal to lengthen the school day or year or both.
After reading an Achieve 3000 article about this topic, we began to explore how Governor Cuomo's idea to expand learning in New York could play out.
We discussed how other public officials like President Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan support expanded learning time as well.
Students have expressed their own opinions, while also considering other's views about the pros and cons of altering the traditional school calendar.
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